For several years now Indiana baseball has been a force in the Big Ten as well as nationally. But the 2018 season is shaping up to be one of their best yet with a strong group of veterans returning as well as some young, talented players.
“We have a strong group of young guys,” said head coach Chris Lemonis. “That will be one of my tougher problems, having a veteran team and a really good group of young guys. Getting that blend right is going to be huge for us.
“We had some players last year who were some of the better players in the league, but one thing we’ve really talked about is doing our work and preparing so we can play well in the games. I think some of our guys still have a growth peak left in becoming a great ballplayer.”
Among those key returners are Luke Miller, Logan Sowers and Matt Lloyd.
Lloyd is the team’s leading returning hitter after batting .301 a year ago. Sowers is the team’s leading returning home run guy after belting 13 a year ago. And Luke Miller led the team with 52 runs scored last year.
Coach Lemonis said Miller has really matured physically, and he’s faster than he’s ever been. Sowers is a guy that has started for Indiana since day one and will try to lead this team as a senior. Lloyd does just about everything for this team, including being their closer.
This offense will be built around those three guys in a lot of ways.
Coach Lemonis said this team should have a lot more athleticism this year. While they led the league in home runs last year and have plenty of pop returning, they also have some guys that can really run.
But coach said the key to their offense will be, “controlling the strike zone and getting a good pitch to drive.”
On the mound they have almost all of their key contributors from last year back.
They also add two quality arms in Grant Sloan and Connor Manous. Both had to sit out last year after transferring from Virginia and Miami respectively.
There are several guys that have a chance to start for Indiana this year, but two guys that have a chance to lead that rotation are Jonathan Stiever and Pauly Milto.
“Johathan Stiever has made some jumps this year,” coach Lemonis added. “He’s pitching at a really high level. He had a really good fall and pitched in the Cape.”
Stiever had a 4.31 ERA last year in 77.1 innings pitched with 57 strikeouts, while Milto had a 3.92 ERA in 78 innings pitched with 65 strikeouts a year ago.
There are four solid arms that will work out of the bullpen in Lloyd, Cal Krueger, Kade Kryzsko and B.J. Sabol. Lloyd and Krueger will both close, while Kryzsko and Sabol will work as set-up men.
As is the case for most teams in the North and Midwest, Indiana will spend the majority of the first month on the road. They go from Myrtle Beach, to Florida and then to San Diego.
“It’s one of those things as a Midwest or Big Ten team, those first so many weeks you’re playing on the road and playing in different environments. You’re playing great competition and you’re jumping out there for the first time. So that’s a big thing for our players, making sure we’re ready to go and healthy.
“For us, RPI at the end of the year is dictated a lot to us on what happens in our first month. So we have to push ourselves and challenge us to be ready to play because we’re building a resume from day one as we jump out there.”
A lot of Indiana’s big RPI games will come in that first weekend with contest against Oklahoma, South Alabama and Coastal Carolina. But the Big Ten has proven to be a challenge over the last couple of years with several solid teams.
“Our focus is to take care of our business for us. In conference and out-of-conference is just as important. Last year we were a two-seed in a regional and finished in sixth (in the Big Ten). But we played a heavy side of our league. We were just two games out of first, but we finished in sixth. It just goes to show you that there are some things you can’t control.
“For us, building that resume is huge. Four of the last five years we’ve been in a regional. Obviously, we want to win the Big Ten, we want to win the Big Ten Tournament. But our league has gotten to where we’re getting four or five teams in the regional every year, and the competitive balance in our league is very strong right now.”
Regardless, Indiana has the chance to be the toast of the Big Ten conference this year. And if everything comes together for them, they could be making some noise in the postseason this year as well.
